Gaming Competitive Gaming/E-sports

[Skills]

Lets not make it a discussion about whether it's a sport or not. For that follow this link:
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/is-console-pc-gaming-a-sport.417066/page-14#post-19160657

Anyways, with that out of the way - I've fairly recently began to follow the competitive Call of Duty scene and I have to say it's a pretty great watch. Some thrilling contests, insane amount of skill involved and nerves of steel.

MLG Atlanta is on the 10th-12th of Feb with a $200'000 prize pool. I watched a few of the events last year and I found them enthralling to watch. I especially enjoy watching Search & Destroy gameplay.

Anyone else follow it? The Halo and CS:GO scene I believe is even bigger, with bigger prize rewards - but having never played those games, it's hard for me to really get into it.

 

[Ralaks]

I caught the CS:GO ELEAGUE major 2 weekends ago and it was ridiculous fun, price money was a whopping $1,000,000.

Even with having barely played Counter Strike outsite of LAN's with mates, it was still very fun to watch. I only watched the last few matches including the final, but that match was very intense and was won by a team coming back from being on the very edge of losing, very much in the same style as this years super bowl.

I'm not into the MOBA-style (LoL, Dota 2, etc) game play at all however, but that scene is very big as well!

 

[Tommy]

Dota 2 & SC2 are my jam Love Rocket League, but can't be bothered watching anything other than highlight reels of the tournaments.

Dota 2 is up another 10m or so since this pic was made... Crazy.

 

[Pexbo]

@Eddy_JukeZ is our celebrity on here

 

[Skills]

Dota 2 & SC2 are my jam Love Rocket League, but can't be bothered watching anything other than highlight reels of the tournaments.

Dota 2 is up another 10m or so since this pic was made... Crazy.

That is insane

 

[One Night Only]

I used to dream of playing games for money when I was a kid.

Now I'm a grown up I understand it's ridiculously time consuming and very tedious in the end, it makes gaming unenjoyable. That, plus I'm shit at games.

 

[Skills]

@Eddy_JukeZ is our celebrity on here

There's a video of him winning the Pro F8tal final.


Does @Eddy_JukeZ compete though on lan tournaments?

 

[b82REZ]

I love watching Hearthstone. It's really helped me get back into the game as well.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

There's a video of him winning the Pro F8tal final.


Does @Eddy_JukeZ compete though on lan tournaments?

Beating Gorilla in that tournament was my favorite ever FIFA win.

I've never played in a LAN tournament. I qualified for the Miami regional for FIFA 17, but wasn't able to go. Qualified for the Vancouver regional too, but I don't even know if I can go to that either. Both bad locations/timing for me unfortunately.

 

[Ady87]

I was just about to make this thread.

Proud member of the Green Wall and long time Optic Gaming fan. I'm going to the ESWC at Paris on 17th for the weekend with a mate!

Stayed up to watch the 2K Saturday night right though to the final finishing just before 10am. That Round 11 S&D play by Scump was absolute next level. Years worth of experience in that play! The Twitch stream went OFF and watched him go 76-2 in a Team Deathmatch while keeping warmed up for the semis!?! The whole event was brilliant but that series has got to be the best I've ever seen given how the 250-249 Hardpoint went earlier on.

Keep this thread alive!

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

I was just about to make this thread.

Proud member of the Green Wall and long time Optic Gaming fan. I'm going to the ESWC at Paris on 17th for the weekend with a mate!

Stayed up to watch the 2K Saturday night right though to the final finishing just before 10am. That Round 11 S&D play by Scump was absolute next level. Years worth of experience in that play! The Twitch stream went OFF and watched him go 76-2 in a Team Deathmatch while keeping warmed up for the semis!?! The whole event was brilliant but that series has got to be the best I've ever seen given how the 250-249 Hardpoint went earlier on.

Keep this thread alive!

You think they'll finally break their duck at the Championship this year?

Edit: Barely watched COD IW comp this year, so no clue how everyone is getting on. Just find the game boring to watch and to play. Had a lot of fun watching BO3 comp though.

 

[Ady87]

You think they'll finally break their duck at the Championship this year?

Edit: Barely watched COD IW comp this year, so no clue how everyone is getting on. Just find the game boring to watch and to play. Had a lot of fun watching BO3 comp though.

Honestly, IW competitive is heating up. Competition is so close and some online teams have been putting up big games which is why everyone is so hyped for MLG Atlanta to see who can do it on LAN.

Scumpi is back streaming on Twitch hitting 20k viewers at times and he is absolutely tearing it up. The started the season really slowly. Scump's uploads on YouTube were all CoD Remastered and H1Z1 on the PC with the odd bit of IW. It divided the fans and showed in results. The rest of the team were grinding out Gamebattles for practice and you could tell it wasn't working as a team and there's been all kinds of speculation recently about whether they give the team a chance at coming back for boots on the ground COD or a roster change is needed etc

Anyway, Scump is a hype player and feeds off the buzz and Twitch gives that to him, he's been head and shoulders above everyone the last 10 days or so just in time for the two LANs coming up. If they carry on this trajectory then champs could happen, but it should have happened before!

The only problem is, my mate booked flights back Sunday night for the Paris LAN and the final starts 5pm. The way things are going Optic will be in that final so unless we 3-0, we are going to miss a chunk of the final!

 

[Skills]

You think they'll finally break their duck at the Championship this year?

Edit: Barely watched COD IW comp this year, so no clue how everyone is getting on. Just find the game boring to watch and to play. Had a lot of fun watching BO3 comp though.

Hugely underrated game I think. I stayed away from it for ages, after seeing the amount of shit it was getting. But it's a pretty damn good game and visually pretty stunning, and Treyarch did a great job with it. That's coming from a COD4 purist who thinks everything that came after has been almost entirely shite.

IW is quite ugly which takes away a lot from the game.

I was just about to make this thread.

Proud member of the Green Wall and long time Optic Gaming fan. I'm going to the ESWC at Paris on 17th for the weekend with a mate!

Stayed up to watch the 2K Saturday night right though to the final finishing just before 10am. That Round 11 S&D play by Scump was absolute next level. Years worth of experience in that play! The Twitch stream went OFF and watched him go 76-2 in a Team Deathmatch while keeping warmed up for the semis!?! The whole event was brilliant but that series has got to be the best I've ever seen given how the 250-249 Hardpoint went earlier on.

Keep this thread alive!

I saw it on his YouTube channel and it was pretty immense. Do you follow Hutch's OMoO videos btw? I find them hilarious, the whole organisation seems pretty decent. And I've been a hutch fan since around 2010.

 

[Revan]

Where does the money for these games come from?

 

[100]

I did enjoy watching COD during boots on the ground. Zero interest now.

 

[P-Nut]

I love watching Hearthstone. It's really helped me get back into the game as well.

I literally can't stop playing that game me!

 

[schwalbe]

Where does the money for these games come from?

I guess mostly through sponsors. Dota 2 is a bit different there, because the price pool is mostly paid for by normal players. You can buy something, no idea what, and then a percentage of the proceeds goes to the price pool of some tournament. That's why the overall price money is way higher than for other games of comparable size.

 

[b82REZ]

I literally can't stop playing that game me!

I have a serious addiction.

I played as a F2P player for a while but I've gotten into buying packs now. Waiting for the latest expansion. Should hit in April hopefully.

What classes do you play as? Please don't tell me you're a Pirate Shaman/Warrior.

 

[Skills]

Where does the money for these games come from?

Sponsors, developers pay for the events to promote the game, Playstation/Xbox pay for the competitions to be played on their consoles etc.

 

[P-Nut]

I have a serious addiction.

I played as a F2P player for a while but I've gotten into buying packs now. Waiting for the latest expansion. Should hit in April hopefully.

What classes do you play as? Please don't tell me you're a Pirate Shaman/Warrior.

I'm still on the F2P at the moment as I didn't get it long ago. I'm a rogue or mage player mainly. Not got the full hang of it yet and regularly struggle to get past 19 in the ranked things.

Love tavern brawl though it's so much fun! New one out at 9 tonight aswell!

 

[b82REZ]

I'm still on the F2P at the moment as I didn't get it long ago. I'm a rogue or mage player mainly. Not got the full hang of it yet and regularly struggle to get past 19 in the ranked things.

Love tavern brawl though it's so much fun! New one out at 9 tonight aswell!

Tavern Brawl is brilliant as a F2P. Gives you chance to play with cards you don't have.

I've recently started playing a Reno Shadow Priest build. Climbed to about rank 12. Not played for a few days though.

You might want to check out hearthpwn.com. It'll give you deck ideas.

Normally its recommended new players play aggro decks, but personally I prefer more control style decks. Playing control decks will help you get a better understanding of board control and general game pacing. Just because you have a 5 drop on turn 5 doesn't necessarily mean you should play it. Understanding card synergies is pretty essential.

If you want any tips just ask, I'll try and help.

Edit. Also there are a fair few expansions rotating out of standard play this year so the meta will be seriously shaken up (hopefully). Just bear that in mind if you are considering buying packs/solo adventures.

 

[Ady87]

Hugely underrated game I think. I stayed away from it for ages, after seeing the amount of shit it was getting. But it's a pretty damn good game and visually pretty stunning, and Treyarch did a great job with it. That's coming from a COD4 purist who thinks everything that came after has been almost entirely shite.

IW is quite ugly which takes away a lot from the game.



I saw it on his YouTube channel and it was pretty immense. Do you follow Hutch's OMoO videos btw? I find them hilarious, the whole organisation seems pretty decent. And I've been a hutch fan since around 2010.

Yeah I watch some Hutch. I quite like the vlogs for all the Optic guys, they've got it nailed.

If the pros scrimping didn't kick off at pretty much 11pm every night id stay up and watch them on Twitch but I'm a zombie for work as it is!

 

[Ady87]

Where does the money for these games come from?

Crowd funding, effectively.

 

[Revan]

Thanks guys! I understand it now.

 

[P-Nut]

Tavern Brawl is brilliant as a F2P. Gives you chance to play with cards you don't have.

I've recently started playing a Reno Shadow Priest build. Climbed to about rank 12. Not played for a few days though.

You might want to check out hearthpwn.com. It'll give you deck ideas.

Normally its recommended new players play aggro decks, but personally I prefer more control style decks. Playing control decks will help you get a better understanding of board control and general game pacing. Just because you have a 5 drop on turn 5 doesn't necessarily mean you should play it. Understanding card synergies is pretty essential.

If you want any tips just ask, I'll try and help.

Edit. Also there are a fair few expansions rotating out of standard play this year so the meta will be seriously shaken up (hopefully). Just bear that in mind if you are considering buying packs/solo adventures.

I never do the solo adventures as I don't see what they add??

 

[b82REZ]

I never do the solo adventures as I don't see what they add??

They'll unlock a certain amount of cards/legendaries. They usually give you about 15-30 exclusive cards. They're pretty necessary if you want to try and climb the ranked ladder.

 

[Dirty Schwein]

I used to be in the fighting game community (FGC) and play tournaments for money. Takes too much time to train so I stopped but I do keep an eye on it (occasionally watch some tournaments like EVO). Has some unique players/characters and the play level is extremely high.

 

[Tommy]

Call me a snob if you want, but I just can't watch Call of Duty/Halo because they're played on consoles... Nothing against console eSports (Fifa, fighting games, Rocket League [although mostly played on PC) are all awesome.

... But FPS games with aim assist? It's like watching a slow road car chug its way around a racing course - Sure, it's turning at the right times, but it's not as impressive as watching a touring car go around.

 

[Castia]

I used to love the Starcraft 2 pro scene and would watch all the main tournaments, teams would transfer players and it was all pretty exiting. Shame the scene died at its hight SC2 was incredible.

I'm not interested in LoL or DOTA I can't stand playing those games and watching them is worse, the only thing I watch now is Overwatch which is fun.

Blizzard have big plans for Overwatch e-sports they want a major American League with teams represented from each City just like NFL or MLB. Interesting to see them pull this off it could be huge if done right.

 

[Simbo]

Blizzard can plan all they want, Overwatch doesn't hold a candle to Dota as a spectator e-sport. I don't play it any more but still watch every now and again. The teamplay/tactical side of it is on another level to anything else, but as a spectator you can see it all unfolding, whereas Overwatch is a bit messy, a lot harder to keep track of things.

 

[One Night Only]

I've had a mooch at the betting a few times over recent months, seems there is a lot of dodgy stuff going on with e-sports from what I've seen.

 

[Ady87]

Call me a snob if you want, but I just can't watch Call of Duty/Halo because they're played on consoles... Nothing against console eSports (Fifa, fighting games, Rocket League [although mostly played on PC) are all awesome.

... But FPS games with aim assist? It's like watching a slow road car chug its way around a racing course - Sure, it's turning at the right times, but it's not as impressive as watching a touring car go around.

Yeah but CS:GO reticles are aimed with a Mouse ffs and look how popular that is. Snipers using a mouse for absolute instant accuracy! The Majors tournament is streamed on TV channels in America I'm told with over a million live viewers and I don't get it being a COD viewer but I'm going to give it a shot soon.

 

[Tommy]

Yeah but CS:GO reticles are aimed with a Mouse ffs and look how popular that is. Snipers using a mouse for absolute instant accuracy! The Majors tournament is streamed on TV channels in America I'm told with over a million live viewers and I don't get it being a COD viewer but I'm going to give it a shot soon.

It's a precision tool, and that makes me appreciate the skill of it a bit more. It's the difference between having proper sculpting tools & having a cheap hammer & chisel from Focus - One is bound to produce more impressive results in the hands of someone who can get the most out of them.

 

[Skills]

This game isn't a good watch. Just so quick and chaotic, but even then karma's clutch was pretty fecking good to watch to win game 5 round 11.

http://codbravo.majorleaguegaming.com/

 

[Ady87]

Oh my god!

Watching COD World League In Atlanta on the MLG stream and Optic Gaming just took it to a last round (11) in a best of 5 series after being a few games of Search & Destroy down and Karma clutches a 1 v 1 to win it and go through, the losers go home. Unbelievable scenes! Anyone watching the tournament?

 

[Ady87]

This game isn't a good watch. Just so quick and chaotic, but even then karma's clutch was pretty fecking good to watch to win game 5 round 11.

http://codbravo.majorleaguegaming.com/

Beat me to it! Mate I'm a huge OG fan so my heart was pounding! Unbelievable!

 

[ivaldo]

I'm still on the F2P at the moment as I didn't get it long ago. I'm a rogue or mage player mainly. Not got the full hang of it yet and regularly struggle to get past 19 in the ranked things.

Love tavern brawl though it's so much fun! New one out at 9 tonight aswell!

The key to building a good collection is the arena. If you can average 5/6+ wins on a regular basis you'll build a collection in no time. You can always use a builder like arenavalue but my tips are keep your curve low, prioritise board clears and card draw and ignore synergy, it's too inconsistent.

I'm played for a year or so and got most good cards as a F2P player. The only exception is that I buy the adventures, I buy these with the thought process that the developers deserves something from me!

 

[Skills]

Beat me to it! Mate I'm a huge OG fan so my heart was pounding! Unbelievable!

I've watched a few of there games, and Formal has been huge every time I've seen them

 

[Sied]

I used to enjoy watching the Warcraft 3 competitive gaming scene. That was a long time ago now. Must be the best part of 15 years ago. I could never get my head around how those guys managed to control units across the map at the same time so well.

 

[Ady87]

I've watched a few of there games, and Formal has been huge every time I've seen them

Watch that Optic v Faze series then? Unreal, can't take this anymore haha